Time for another guest author…
This Writer’s Life-(TWL)-Welcome to the Wednesday blog, happy to have you join us today. Introduce yourself and tell us about yourself, your writing and your books.
Hey there, my name is Ella Braeme and I write the kind of books I love to read. Romance novellas with that small town vibe. My latest book is blending two subgenres that I love – it’s all about Her Rock Star Mountain Man.
TWL-Why and when did you decide to become an author?
I was in grade school when I wrote short stories, wrote them in my best cursive and tried to sell them to strangers for a quarter. Let’s just say I didn’t sell many copies.
TWL-What’s a typical writing session like for you?
That starts before I get up. I snuggle in bed for a little while longer and that’s the most creative time of the day. After all the morning hustle (breakfast, walking the dog, and such) I sit at my desk and start typing whatever had come to me earlier.
TWL-What have you learned most from being a writer?
That I’ll never stop learning. I know this sounds corny, but it’s true. For every tidbit I learn I realize that there are entire encyclopedias I’ll never know about.
TWL-What’s been the biggest struggle and how did you overcome it?
Struggle is the killer of all creativity and I do my best to avoid it. Take a deep breath, take my dog on an extra walk, drink a cup of tea – only then try to sit at the desk again.
TWL-What’s been your biggest victory?
Honestly, I wouldn’t know. It’s not about that one big victory, but about many, many small ones. Like finding out how a character would react. Or like improving a blurb.
TWL-If you could give advice to your pre-author self, what would it be?
I’ve written for so many years and never published, because it was not perfect. It wasn’t until I realized that it doesn’t have to be perfect, that I felt free to get a book out. My books still aren’t perfect and they’ll never be. And honestly, it doesn’t matter. I find so many flaws in the books of my favorite authors. Once I found a scene that had been used twice in a book. That is a major mistake, but I still loved that book.
TWL-What writing tip would you offer to a new author?
Listen to all the writing tips – and feel free to happily ignore them. It’s about finding your own path, your own voice, your own muse. Trust yourself.
Mic Drop
Our musicians are gorgeous, charming, and maybe a bit broken…
Mic Drop features books about the life of a musician – some are charming and some are broken…
Each one is sure to keep you blazing through the pages…
Authors include:
Ashley Zakrzewski
Ella Braeme
Kendra Mei Chailyn
Jordan Elizabeth
Tich Brewster
Audrey Bell
Release Date: March 12, 2024
ASIN: B0CG28K8LY
Genre: rock star romance
Heat level: 3 out of 5
Buy link – https://books2read.com/Micdrop
My contribution to this anthology:
Her Rock Star Mountain Man by Ella Braeme
Series: Elken Grove Mountain Men
Tagline:
This mountain man became a rock star, and now he’s back home.
Blurb:
My band was finally playing big venues, and I had nothing better to do than to humiliate myself publicly. I go home to lick my wounds and find my old gal in distress. My ma gives me an ultimatum: either I make Lilly stop barking or she’ll re-home her. So I hire a dog trainer and set to work. The more time I spend with her, the likelier it is I never want her to leave.
In a fleeting moment, I choose to give her a fake name. It’s refreshing to be seen as someone ordinary, not as a rock star. But then I discover her disdain for celebrities, and foolishly, I believe I’ve dodged a bullet by concealing my true identity. Now, I’m trapped in a web of my own lies. How can I reveal the truth without risking her walking away the moment she learns who I really am?
Read this heartwarming, small-town romance novella with a heroine who’s doing her best to stay away from the attractive lumberjack-slash-rock star, a hero who is determined to make her his, and a good girl who is too vocal about what she doesn’t like. Her Rock Star Mountain Man promises a perfect blend of light steam and a satisfying happily-ever-after. It is part of the Elken Grove Mountain Men series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Excerpt
The lights dim as the last stagehand vanishes into the wings. There is no music yet, but the audience’s murmur starts to quiet. I’ve never been to a concert of Tawpie Tantrum before, and hardly know anything about them, but for their music, which had been running almost non-stop on my stereo for weeks. I go to live gigs as often as I can. The hope for a great concert is making me giddy and I can’t help rubbing my hands together. I’m glad we’ve shelled out for first row seats in the side section, not too far from the stage.
Gradually, the lights on stage become brighter and illuminate the positions the band will take in a couple of minutes.
I love this moment. Everything is possible right now. This might very well be the best concert I’m ever going to attend. I might be blown away by the music. This might be a life-altering night.
I relish this anticipation just before the concert. And it’s not just me. Right now, it feels like the entire audience is with me on this.
“I’ll get myself a soda. You want any?”
Of course, a moment like this is wasted on Brittney. My sister-in-law is a good friend but has zero sensitivity for awe. Or whatever it is that I feel right now.
“Get me a water, will you?” Amanda asks. Today, she is wearing her hair in some crazy curls, like right out of a hair product ad. This should look terrible, but not with Amanda. Her confident smile makes me question my choice of clothes. Blue jeans, white shirt, and a brown leather jacket, my ash blonde hair undone—nobody would take me for a style icon. I have to look put together in my job. No way am I putting much thought into my appearance in my spare time. Only women like Amanda with their impeccable sense of style make me wish I was snazzier.
Just as Brittney squeezes past me to get to the concession stand, a member of the band appears on stage. The lights change color and start swirling, as the Black guy sits behind the drums. The audience welcomes him with applause and cheering. Very softly, he begins a solo.
Drum solos are not really my thing. I guess I’m more the melody kind of girl and that rhythm is lost on me once it is by itself. But this here is a surprise. The drummer plays that ba-dum-tss in many variations, outdoing themselves, mocking one another. I’m not sure this is a thing, but it most definitely sounds like it.
After a few minutes of blissful drum solo, another man walks on stage. He puts his horn to his lips and soon, the two instruments engage in a playful duel. I can’t stop grinning. This is so good!
“This is good.”
The seats jolt as Brittney flops next to me. She offers me a water bottle I had not requested. Sometimes, things like that make her a wonderful friend. Now, though, it irks me as it takes from the moment.
I hear background vocals, and as the light changes again, it reveals three singers standing upstage, two women in silvery dresses and a man in black pants and a shirt of that same silvery fabric. They are moving gracefully, thus emphasizing their singing. The entire stage setup is visually as alluring as the music.
“Ooh, I’d love me some drummer.” Amanda points at the young man skillfully twirling his sticks and working his drums with his entire body. Sweat makes his skin glisten in the limelight. How can he go through the concert if he exerts himself this much in the very first song?
Brittney makes a howling sound. “Okay, you can have him. I take the hornist.”
Interesting. With his long, wavy hair and his slender body, he is about as different from my brother as someone can be. I feel the need to protect Carson, and so I point out, “You’re married.”
“Yeah, so? A girl can dream.” Brittney winks at me and keeps dancing in her seat in that slightly exaggerated way, like she had to make sure everybody knew she had a good time.
I’m not comfortable with this conversation and try to focus on the music.
“Who are you gonna pick?” Amanda asks.
I’m about to say, “Nobody,” when another man steps on stage. He is much taller than his band mates and wears himself with an easy confidence that makes me edgy. He is broad-shouldered and looks just like the kind of man who could put a spell on me—I’ve always had a penchant for the lumberjack physique. I notice a pressure on my chest, like my heart is beating erratically.
The man wears leather pants and a shiny, see-through tunic that emphasizes his toned body more than it cloaks it. He slides the belt of his guitar around his neck. With a quick motion, he swipes some of his longish dark strands behind the ear and checks the plug.
The pulsating rhythm of the drum and the titillating timbre of the horn echo through the arena, but it is the guitarist who had not even started playing that held my attention. I just couldn’t ignore that spark of a connection.
“Ooh, somebody likes the picker.” Brittney jokingly elbows me. I wave her off dismissively, but that only makes her and Amanda break out in laughter.
Determined not to pay attention to their antics, I intently watch what is happening on stage. And yeah, by that I mean I watch the guitarist. He nods a few times to get into the rhythm and finally begins to play.
I love guitars. They talk to me. I know this sounds stupid, and I am no good at anything to do with music in the first place. My father always says that I am tone deaf, and that might very well be. I couldn’t hold a tune if my life depended on it, and I sucked at music lessons. But once I decided that I don’t care a fig about what good music is and whether people laugh at me enjoying it, I now am free to listen to whatever I want and to spend all my money on concerts. It makes me come alive. And guitars do talk to me. Not all of them, of course. It depends on who plays it. This one here is outright eloquent. I listen, captivated, song after song, ensnared by the instrument. Or its player if that makes a difference at all. Watching him is almost as bewitching as listening to his guitar and I wish we had gone for front-of-stage tickets so I could see him better. He walks around the stage, dances, jumps, or in some instances, just stands still. In these moments, it looks like he was listening, too. The stage lights bathe the band in a kaleidoscope of colors and gives them a mysterious air. Maybe it is just a trick of the lights, but one time I actually had the impression he smiled and winked at me.
I feel a closeness to him, and that is futile. I bet everybody in the stadium does. Still, it feels real and makes me yearn. Like a rock star would ever look at me.
About the author:
Ella writes sweet’n’steamy romances that are meant to provide short vacations from your everyday life. She loves to read, mostly romances, of course, and to putter around in her backyard, forever trying to turn it into a blooming garden. She’s got a dog who is helping greatly with all the garden work by supervising everything Ella does and—for the most part—not digging up her flowers.
Meet Ella
Follow Ella on Instagram @ellawritesromance
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Visit the website https://ellabraeme.com
Other books by Ella Braeme
Married in Windfall
Nice Enough
Anyone at Hand
Someone I Chose
Santa’s Proposal ← free with sign-up
Married in Windfall (the entire series available as paperback)
Elken Grove Mountain Men
Butting Heads with Her Mountain Man
Her Rock Star Mountain Man in the Mic Drop anthology
Knocked Up by the Mountain Man in the Love and Espresso anthology